Several have been injured in the crash between an SUV and an Amish buggy in Van Buren County. The Van Buren County Sheriff’s Department has released the following:
Sheriff Daniel E. Abbott reports that Deputies were dispatched to the 45000 block of CR 388 for a report that an SUV had crashed into an Amish buggy. Upon arrival Deputies located the crashed buggy and found there were 6 occupants that had been in the buggy. 5 of the occupants had obvious injuries and Deputies began life saving measures on the subject with the most serious injuries. Multiple ambulances arrived on scene and began treating and transporting the injured subjects. All 6 subjects were transported to area hospitals, 4 of which had serious injuries and 1 with critical injuries. The driver of the SUV remained on scene and was cooperative with Deputies during the investigation. The initial investigation showed that the buggy was west bound on CR 388 when it was hit from behind by the SUV. It appeared that speed and alcohol were both factors in the crash. The driver of the SUV was arrested for operating while intoxicated causing serious injury and lodged at the Van Buren County Jail. County road 388 was closed for 4 hours while the crash was investigated but is now open. The investigation is still ongoing. Deputies were assisted on scene by Bloomingdale fire, Columbia fire, LIFE EMS, and VBEMS.
